Okay you buy a brand spanking new model for let's say $175.00. You get all excited and the model arrives. You open it and inspect it. You find that there are two very small parts that are broken off, but still in the box. Both parts are difficult to glue back on. It is readily apparent that the parts are missing when you look at the model. Whether you plan to keep it forever, or may resell it down the road, you know that it's now a broken model that is used. So, do you send it back or keep it? I hope that many of you respond. Thanks, CAW

If I can repair it, I will keep it, if not it goes back. If it is really poor packaging on the shippers part, it goes back o matter what. I have been fortunate not to receive too many damage items. Ken

If bits are broken off and difficult to repair then I’d send it back. Only caveat to this would be if it was a rare model and couldn’t be replaced.

It's a tricky one this.

I had a WSI model arrive with a wing mirror broken off a few weeks ago and for me the question is do I send it back only to have the replacement one arrive in a worse condition .

On this occasion I took a tiny drop of glue and stuck it back on as best I could and although it's not 100% perfect you can't really see it unless really up close. Although I don't intend to sell my models I know this probably makes the model difficult to sell as it's not perfect condition now.

I've had a CAT mining truck arrive with the underside hydraulic tank broken off and one or two other little things but the cost and hassle of sending it back meant I just glued the parts back on and put it down to experience.

On the other hand, if a model arrived very damaged(wheels broken off or something) then assuming it was from a dealer I'd return it whatever the cost.

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Scania V8. The best sounding truck in the world.

Okay Dain. What do you call a model that has not been opened or the seal broken, but the dang model is broken inside?javascript:insertsmiley(' ','/images/emoticons/eusa_snooty.gif')

A sad dilemma faced by many of us. Because shipping is so costly I prefer to repair. Small delicate plastic pieces can be a challenge. Fragile cyanoacrylate glue will likely result in further breakage and a suboptimal repair. Epoxy can give you a more robust repair, but typically becomes brittle over time. One solution I've ripped from the dental world is to place a metal core into the broken piece and the base making it actually stronger than it was originally.

Firstly use a needle tip to depress the area on the part and the base area where the part came from so your drill bit will stay true and give you the best chance of having perfectly aligned holes. One trick so that you don't drill right through your part is to measure the depth of the hole you can tolerate and then mark that depth on the bit, once that mark hits the edge of your drilled hole then stop. Easily wipe the mark on your drill bit with rubbing alcohol. Now depending on how small you had to go with your drill bit use either a sewing needle or fine wire and cut a single length that will cross the core from the broken piece to the base piece on the model. To achieve this I insert the rod into both drilled ends one at a time and mark the edge on the side. By adding those two depths I have the length I need to cross both pieces. Test fit dry to ensure everything fits well and practice how you will orient the pieces with your tweezers before gluing (line of sight to make sure it's level and even during final fitting). If your rod piece is too long either trim or gently sand with coarse sandpaper. If your holes did not align perfectly then you have the option of increasing the drilled holes in the broken pieces (least recommended) or coming down in diameter on the rod piece which will now give you some wiggle room. Once confident it'll work, apply some gel cyanoacrylate which gives you optimal control. You'll have about 20-30 secs of working time to get the part in the right position. Now you can touch up the broken edges with a little enamel model paint and you'll have a piece that is now stronger than the original and won't leave you wondering if it will simply break again.

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Here my $0.02...

I have always been very fortunate with buying models and never had anything broken on them in the 15+ years or so I've been collecting. Recently I just purchased another model for a very good price-almost half retail. When the model arrived, it was still in a factory sealed box. Took out the model and and something didn't look right, the right side main boom hydraulic ram was bent to hell. So I contacted the seller and he said that he didn't have anymore in stock and would issue a refund or credit or he would also try to contact the manufacturer for a new one or parts. I told him that I would like to keep it and try to fix it, didn't seem like it was that hard but more intimidating than anything because it being so fragile. So a couple days went by and I contacted the manufacturer myself and told them the issue if they had any spare parts, they asked for pics which I obliged and sent. They told me send my address and a replacement would be sent out ASAP to the US. Meanwhile, the seller told me that he contacted the manufacturer and they had told him basically "you're SOL". I received and email from the person I was in contact with at X manufacturer saying that my package was being shipped out on a Friday and should be here soon, we all know what shipping is like from overseas, yeah right! to my surprise a box was at my door on Monday with a brand new model in it.

So I would say if it's a hard to find model, just bite the bullet and try to fix it yourself or contact the maker if the seller won't make it right, or just flat out BS you and not do anything about it.

Yes, you are right kokosing. But what do you do when you have 15 left? I put them with lowboys, add headache racks, and warning beacons. They seem to sell better with those. I tell you, it's hard to find a GREAT diecast truck anymore. Chuck's are the best by a long shot, but WSI trucks with Chuck are not as nice as the TWH original versions. WSI makes great looking trucks, but they fall a bit short in quality for me. They are still heads above most other mfgs though. I miss the Alan Smith trucks, but they were fragile and the lowboys sank in the middle. They did not have the detail of these newer trucks. I still say Conrad made the best trucks ever. When you customized them, they were great. That CCM Kenworth was nice, just a bit big. Maybe we could get CCM to make more styles. Maybe Chuck will make a Kenworth W900 next. And let's see how those Diecast Masters International trucks come out. The configuration of their lowboys with the jeeps and stingers is silly, but we will see. My pet peeve is the lack of West Coast style lowboys, the lack of jeeps and stingers in 1:50th, and the lack of a new 3x3x3 construction lowboy. Ain't it fun to bitch though? CAW